Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply challenged government legal officials during a security cabinet meeting over months of delays in granting legal status to agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria, as several senior ministers accused the Attorney General’s Office of obstructing a measure they described as essential to the security of Israeli communities.
The security cabinet had convened to discuss formally regulating the legal status of the farms, but the discussion quickly developed into a heated confrontation over why the process has yet to move forward, according to a report by i24.
Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs criticized the five-month delay, arguing that the farms serve an important security function for communities throughout the region.
“The farms are a security belt for the settlements, and we made a decision that we want to regulate them — and for five months already there has been no response from the attorney general,” Fuchs said.
Defense Minister Yisrael Katz joined the criticism, noting that the senior IDF commander responsible for the area supports the proposed move.
“The general supports the move. I don’t understand why the attorney general isn’t finalizing it,” Katz said.
Fuchs pressed for the cabinet to take immediate action rather than allowing the matter to remain stalled.
“We want to instruct the general today to sign it,” he said.
A deputy attorney general responded that “staff work is required” before the matter can proceed.
That explanation drew a frustrated response from Netanyahu, who demanded to know why the legal review was taking so long.
“I’m in favor of staff work — but how long does it take?!” Netanyahu said.
Fuchs then escalated his criticism of the legal officials, arguing that the continued delay was directly affecting the safety of residents in Judea and Samaria.
“This is a security need, and you are harming the security of the residents,” he said.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also entered the confrontation, accusing government legal advisers of similarly delaying initiatives involving young communities in Judea and Samaria. He argued that the legal obstacles were preventing the government from placing structures as part of a program intended for so-called hilltop youth.
“The legal counsel is also dragging its feet on the young settlements, and we cannot place structures in the young settlements for a program for the hilltop youth, and then you complain that the young people go to Qusra,” Smotrich said.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir concluded with a sarcastic jab at Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, referring to previous legal restrictions involving his participation in public events.
“Gil Limon has other work — to forbid me from going to conferences,” Ben Gvir said.
{Matzav.com}
